CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County and cities will be better able to track rental properties once the county begins imposing a $150 fine to landlords who do not register their properties, fiscal officer Dennis Kennedy said.

The county will enforce a 2006 state law that requires landlords in large counties to register residential rental properties, Kennedy told County Council at a budget hearing Monday.

Kennedy said he estimates about 50 percent to 55 percent of landlords have already registered their properties and that will likely rise to about 80 percent once an information campaign gets underway.

The registration requirement, which has always been included on tax bills, will be highlighted, he said. Cities will be asked to notify residents at meetings and through newsletters. There are property codes that indicate whether it is a rental and those owners, including mortgage servers who receive tax bills, will be contacted, he said.

"We will try every avenue to get the word out," he said.

There are several benefits to having rental properties registered, he said.

"Our records should match local municipalities and they want to know rental properties so they can collect fees," he said. The county will share the registry with cities.

Property owners that live in their own residence receives a 2.5 percent reduction on most of their property tax bill. Kennedy said there have been instances where people also file a credit saying they also lived in their rental property.

Landlords must also include rental income on municipal income taxes and some do not, he said.

"This will help cities identify those situations because they can cross-reference our registry with RITA or CCA," he said.

Appraisal records, which will be used for the six-year appraisal in 2018, will be used to find those with rental properties, he said.

Counties with populations of more than 200,000 can impose the fine, he said. Franklin, Hamilton and Summit counties impose a fine and Stark is considering it, Kennedy said.

He said the anticipated revenue, including $500,000 in 2019, is a projection.

"It is kind of like projecting speeding ticket revenue," he said. "You hope no one is going to get a speeding ticket but you know it will occur. If everyone is compliant everyone wins."